“Derek brings us added depth, playmaking ability and experience at center, helping complement our young, developing wingers,” Preds general manager David Poile said. “He has played in a number of roles, averaging about 19 minutes of ice time throughout his career, and is effective on the power play. He provides our coaching staff with some added skill and maturity down the middle when putting together our lineup for the coming season.”

Roy spent last year with the St. Louis Blues, for whom he scored nine goals and 28 assists. The 31-year-old has struggled to produce consistently since leaving the Buffalo Sabres in 2012. He had stints with Dallas and Vancouver before signing with the Blues last summer.

Iam guessing that when Joikinen played with IGINLA in their prime had nothing to do with it which…. 7 or 8 of those 9 seasons were with. and how the hell are Crosby and Malkin irrelevant when you are talking about James Neals stats????? I guarantee you that 100% of those points neal got on Pittsburgh either Malkin or Crosby OR EVEN BOTH were on the ice with him. Keep on bringing up what you will woman bc iam not even going to check back. Keep Reading it over and over again until you get it.

c9castine - Jul 15, 2014 at 1:07 PM

yeah maybe but they just signed 3 quality centers for what, like 4.5 million?

3 guys who could easily score 20 goals 50 points.

its not ideal for them and they surely wanted better but lets be honest, this was making the best out of a bad situation.

Yeah… its hit or miss. Not really much or a risk being its all mostly 1 year contracts and they didn’t have much offensively anyways. And I wouldnt say easily 20 gs and 50 points… You have to remember they are now part of one of the worst offensive teams in the league. Joikinen came from WPG which was good offensively, Roy from STL which was one of the better offensive teams up until injuries set in during the playoffs. Robeiro is robeiro and needs to wake up and James neal played on Pittsburgh with Crosby and Malkin. Two of the best playmakers in the game, Yes they can all contribute but dont forget where they came from. Hence why they were traded, bought out or resigned…..

c9castine - Jul 15, 2014 at 11:47 PM

all 3 players have a long history of producing the stats i mentioned.

riberio has cleared 50 points 8 times plus 49 pts in 48 games in lockout season. more of a playmaker but has 3 20 goal seasons and has clipped the 80 pt mark.

olli jokinen has 9 50 point seasons, 8 20 goal seasons and has totals of 91, 89, and 71 to his credit.

crosby and malkin are irrelevant here. Poile made the best of a tough situation and got quality center iceman who have played with top wingers in their careers and can probably thrive in top 9 roles as opposed to the ones theyve been playing on deeper teams

Iam guessing that when Joikinen played with IGINLA in their prime had nothing to do with it which…. 7 or 8 of those 9 seasons were with. and how the hell are Crosby and Malkin irrelevant when you are talking about James Neals stats????? I guarantee you that 100% of those points neal got on Pittsburgh either Malkin or Crosby OR EVEN BOTH were on the ice with him. Keep on bringing up what you will woman bc iam not even going to check back. Keep Reading it over and over again until you get it.

c9castine - Jul 16, 2014 at 12:41 PM

uhhh. i dunno why your getting so mad.

and i never said anything about james neals stats.

c9castine - Jul 16, 2014 at 12:54 PM

also, during both Iginla and Jokinen’s prime years, Jokinen was in Florida. only played a couple years with Iginla.

so, while your yelling at me for needing to be right, or whatever, your over there saying stuff that is completely wrong. 7 8 or 9 of those seasons in their prime? try 3 and a half in the later part of their careers.

I could see Roy filling in the 3C role, with Jokinen at 2C and Ribeiro as the first line center. Obviously not the greatest trio, but for what they signed for money wise, it’s not to bad. If Rinne stays healthy, I could see the Preds fighting for the 7th or 8th seed.

Last year the Blues signed him for $4 million with the assumption he would bust his ass to prove to the league he was worth a multi-year contract for that or more. He did prove something- he’s not worth even that. The best part is that when they show faces on the bench I don’t have to wonder whether it’s Roy or Steen.

leepetertk - Jul 15, 2014 at 1:48 PM

with all these one year deals, perhaps this sets up the Lecavalier trade to Nashville next year after he toils in Philly for another year. Unfortunate this trade could not be completed this off season because there is a clear need on both NSH and PHI sides.

Yeah unfortunately I don’t think Lecavalier fits Nashville in the short or long term. His term is too unseemly for most teams. The only way he gets traded is if he comes to camp and plays like he did the first 20 or so games (when he had 9 goals) and shows he still has it. I never thought Poile would bite on this anyway, especially after the Flyers put the Preds in an unenviable position with paying Weber that much.

Idk if this means anything but I briefly met Berube yesterday and asked him about Vinny… he said it’s 50/50 he’s a Flyer. Of course this was before the Preds signed Ribiero and Roy. Now, without a clear partner, I’d say it’s more like 75% he stays in Philly.

Flyers made the Preds swallow the poison pill with Weber, why would the Flyers expect anything but the middle finger back? Why would they expect any help from Lavy after tossing him a handful of games into the season? Why do they expect other teams to value Vinny when they are desperate to give him away?

I’m just really perplexed by the centers that the preds have acquired this offseason. Their need is for a first-line center, and they’ve gone out and picked up three 2nd-3rd liners. I guess having depth is important in the central division, and I’m sure they’ll move at least one of them to the wing, but I don’t believe that these signings make them all that much stronger of a team.

The west is so tight that Nashville has almost no chance to make the playoffs. Kings ducks sharks hawks blues wild stars and avalanche are almost shoe ins and the Canucks and coyotes should be a bit better than the preds.